


Mom's Boyfriend

by missdibley



Series: East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon [22]
Category: Magnus Martinsson - Fandom, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom, Wallander (UK TV), Wallander (UK TV) RPF, Wallander - All Media Types
Genre: Existing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, au wallander, wallander - Freeform, wallander au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:41:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7311754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdibley/pseuds/missdibley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Halla is feeling blocked, and slightly foolish when she learns that her celebrity crush has found romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mom's Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

> Wherever you happen to fall in the phenomenon that is Hiddleswift, I hope this is an enjoyable read. And that you might understand where Halla is coming from (even if she's still processing it herself).

_The evening concierge said he would buy the flowers himself._

_Someone must have slandered Stephen Elm, for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested._

_Manly, virile Stephen Elm came from the landing, bearing a bowl of shaving soap upon which a mirror and a razor lay crossed._

Every time Halla typed an opening sentence, each line shameless cribbed from one of her favorite novels, she dropped her hands away from the keyboard and into her lap. She would frown at the screen, sigh, then try again with a new one.

She sat at the end of the long white table that she and her husband Magnus used as a desk. Placed just so on the surface of the table was her laptop, a glass of water set on a coaster that looked like the Swedish flag, and her phone. Just out of the corner of her eye she could see the mantel upon which there were framed pictures. Halla and Magnus [on ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3750166/chapters/8322163) [ the day they met ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3750166/chapters/8322163) , awkward and shy in front of the old Ferris wheel on Navy Pier. The two of them laughing in [a rainy garden in Ireland](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3887695). Magnus and Halla on their wedding day in Sweden, him holding a three month old Maggy in his arms.

Halla was trying to write fan fiction. She swore that she spent more time thinking about writing, dreading it and complaining about it, than the actual writing itself. Even worse, she was the type of writer who edited while she wrote. It could take her days, sometimes weeks, to produce a scant 1000 words that, when finally posted to Tumblr and to AO3, would get maybe a few dozen hits. A few likes. Maybe a re-blog or a comment.

Sometimes she wondered if she should take the advice often misattributed to the writer Ernest Hemingway: “Write drunk. Edit sober.” She wasn’t much of a drinker, though. Halla was, as Magnus liked to say cheekily and lovingly, a very cheap date. Cheap date or not, she wished she was drunk now. Maybe being two cans deep into a four-pack of [ her favorite grapefruit beer ](https://www.stiegl.at/en/brands/range/main-range/stiegl-radler-grapefruit) would help her deal better with the fact that Samuel Longfellow, her celebrity crush, was romantically involved with one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

Was this really him? This man shamelessly mugging for paparazzi cameras as he was led from one staged photo op to the next? Dancing awkwardly at a concert with his girlfriend and all of her young friends? And was that his sweet looking mother being used as a prop in a whirlwind visit home to his native England?

None of this should have mattered. Not really. Even if she was married (and happily at that) to the nicest man she had ever met, as well as mother to two wonderful children, there was still a pang in Halla’s heart. She wondered about her friends in the fandom who were not so blessed. She could only imagine their reticence at expressing their own unhappy feelings, fearful as they may have been to be shouted down and accused of being bitter and hateful.

Halla thought re-reading some of the fan fiction she had already produced might make her feel better, but it only made her feel worse. She felt like a fool. When she returned to the series of stories she had been writing for Samuel, stories she had worked so hard to match to his real life and who she thought he was, she decided two things:

  1. While she was not sure she would ever write fan fiction again, Halla would not continue writing real person fiction, or stories where Samuel was himself.
  2. The series she had written, about Samuel and a wisecracking thirtysomething American with a wicked sense of humor and a jealous streak, would have to end.



As soon as she announced on her Tumblr that she was bringing the stories of Samuel and his beloved Carina to an end, Halla immediately regretted it. She wondered if she should take it back. Was it too late? Could Samuel and Carina stay together? What about...

_“Käraste?”_

Magnus stood in the doorway, hands clasped around a mug of hot tea. Head tilted to one side, he gave her a little smile. Halla sat up straight and took a sip of water.

“Yeah?” She gave a slight cough. “What’s up?”

Magnus came into the room, setting his mug on the desk before kneeling at Halla’s feet. “You look like you are upset.”

“I…” Halla was about to protest, thought again, then nodded. “Yeah. I am.”

Magnus’s eyes flitted to the screen, then returned to her face. “New story?”

Halla nodded again. “Yeah. For Stephen. You know,  _The Evening Concierge_.”

Magnus couldn’t help but smile. “You’re still unhappy about the way the program ended?”

“It was just so stupid!” She grimaced. “It was too neat. Tidy. It may as well have been an episode of Scooby-Doo.”

“That’s the cartoon with the Great Dane, yes?”

“Yes,” replied Halla. “The dog, a bunch of teenagers driving around in a van. They solve a mystery, all in the space of a 30 minute episode.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” mused Magnus. “I mean, it sounds like they’ve got a 100% success rate.”

“There is that,” said Halla.

“And I bet they don’t have to kill anybody to catch their man!”

“Well, to be fair, their quarry is usually an elderly man who wants to buy land for cheap so he can build a factory or something.”

“Oh?” Magnus looked surprised. “They don’t go chasing after international drug kingpins like that Elm fellow did?” When Halla pouted, he laughed. Magnus reached for her hands but she playfully slapped him away.

“Now I just feel silly. About this, and,” Halla sighed. “The actor who played Elm.”

“The actor? You mean that Longfellow… fellow?”

Magnus got to his feet, took Halla’s hand, and led her to the loveseat in the corner. He waited for her to curl up next to him before he nuzzled her temple. “What’s he got to do with this?”

“He…” Halla hiccuped. “He’s seeing somebody.”

“Ah.”

“A pop singer. Gorgeous, rich, and so young.”

“Ah,” said Magnus. “So you’re unhappy that they are together?”

“It’s not that they’re together.” Halla scowled, more at herself than at him. “It’s just, this doesn’t seem like him. Posing for the cameras. Maybe it’s a scheme? Give the public what they think they want, inundate us with images, and then we’ll get so sick of them we’ll lose interest? It just seems like it’s a big game, and I thought he wouldn’t do that sort of thing.”

“You think he’s shallow, then?” Magnus looked thoughtful. “What if it’s in the service of his career? Isn’t he tipped to be the next James Blergh?”

“Oh, he’s known for his professional drive. His ambition. I just thought, hoped, that he would not engage in these shenanigans.”

“So what if he isn’t?”

“How do you mean?”

“What if he’s so smitten he doesn’t care? He’ll do anything she asks, assuming she’s the one taking the lead, because he cares for her that much?”

Halla felt that familiar weight in the pit of her stomach. “I… I don’t know.” Despite herself, her bottom lip began to tremble.

“Oh my love, I’m so sorry…” Magnus pulled her in, hugging her tight as she tried not to cry.

“Hey, have you guys seen… what’s going on?”

Sixteen year old Maggy stuck her head into the room. She frowned for, once again, her parents seemed to be on the verge of making out. It was Maggy’s opinion that people in their fifties had no business snogging all over the place when there were young people such as herself and younger brother Håkan to be appalled about it.

“Nothing, _duva_ ,” said Magnus.

Halla sniffed. “Did you need something, sweetheart?”

“Do you know where my hiking boots are? I had them out when we went to Starved Rock in March, and I wanted to pack them [for Scotland](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4722221).”

“Laundry room, on the shoe rack with the rain boots.” Halla nodded.

“Thanks.” Maggy bit her lip. Before she turned to go, she took another look at her mother’s face. “Ma?”

“Yeah, Mags?”

“You okay?”

Halla looked up at Magnus, who smiled down at her. “Yes, I am.”

“This isn’t about your boyfriend?” asked Maggy, rather impetuously. “That Longfellow dude from that spy show you made me watch? I saw something on the internet about him.”

“Well…” Magnus began but Maggy cut him off.

“It is?! But he’s so old!” She rolled her eyes. “What’s up with him going around with _her_? He looks like her creepy uncle.”

Halla couldn’t help smiling at that remark.

Maggy frowned. “And he’s like totally going bald, but not in a hot fuckable way like Jason Statham.”

“Magnolia!” Magnus was stern.

“What?” Maggy looked incredulous.

“Language!”

 _“Da-ad_ , war is a bad word. Evil is a bad word. Fuck is just another way for saying making love. And love,” pronounced Maggy, “is definitely not bad.”

Magnus was not going to win this fight. “Fine.” He peered down at Halla. “Well, Mama was a little sad.”

“About him? Really?” Maggy frowned. “Oh come on, Ma. He’s soooooo not worth it.”

“I know, but…” Halla trailed off. “I liked him.”

“But he’s such a phony, just like her, and he’s not cute…” Maggy stopped short when Magnus shook his head. She saw the serious look in his eyes. The look that said _“Not now.”_

She was frustrated. Maggy always thought it was best to talk through problems, make sense of what was going on. She was lucky to have two parents who were available to talk to her about anything. But some problems, some feelings could not be rationalized just by talk. Sometimes all you could do is let yourself be consoled by somebody who is happy to do nothing more than hold you.

When Maggy left them alone, Magnus kissed Halla on the forehead. “She means well.”

“I know she does.” Halla chuckled. “I’m glad she’s annoyed, truthfully. It’s like she’s annoyed for me.”

“Maggy’s a good girl.”

“She’s just like your father.”

“Is that a nice way of saying she’s a, what’s the word, loudmouth?”

“Magnus!” Halla tutted. “Forthright, more like.”

“He’d agree with that.”

They continued to sit quietly, looking out the window that revealed a expanse of clear blue sky. It was a beautiful summer day in Chicago.

“Tell me something, baby.”

“What is it, love?” Magnus nuzzled her cheek.

“You don’t… you’re not offended, are you?” Halla’s eyes were wide with concern. “That it affects me so?”

Magnus cupped his face in her hands, tenderly and sweetly kissing her on the lips. He shook his head. “No.”

“But why?’

“They’re your feelings. You can’t help it. Who am I to tell you how to feel?” He hugged her again. “I put up with a lot, but your crush, if I can call it that? Not a burden.” He returned the smile she bestowed upon him. “There is no offense to forgive. And even if I were foolish enough to think so, what would it matter? The only thing I could not stand is you being hurt.”

“Oh!” Halla thought her heart would burst. “I don’t deserve you.”

“But then I don’t deserve you,” Magnus said with a wink.

“No,” replied Halla lightly. “You don’t!” She squealed when he tickled her. She pushed herself up, stretched, then walked back to her desk to check her phone. Halla brought up a video of Samuel and the girl, dancing at the gala where they first met. She held it up to Magnus, who frowned at the display.

“They look good together, don’t they?”

“Like two giraffes rushing at each other in formalwear, sure.”

“Magnus!” Halla laughed at him.

“You know it’s true, love.” Magnus got to his feet, wiggled his toes, then took Halla’s hand in his.

“Well, they look very alike. Tall, blond, slim.” Halla followed him out of the office, down the hall just a few steps to their bedroom. The windows were open, and a faint breeze made the curtains flutter.

“ _Käraste_ , we don’t look alike at all and I think we look quite good together.” They stretched out on the bed, on their sides and facing each other. Magnus reached out and placed his hand on her hip. Before Halla could reply, he pulled her on top of him.

“We certainly fit well together,” he murmured into her ear.

“Well…” Halla’s eyes fluttered shut when he sucked on her earlobe. “Oh!”

“We certainly _feel_ good together.”

Halla giggled. “Naughty!”

“Who’s naughty?” Magnus did his best to look innocent. “We’re just two boring old married people having a chat.”

“We just had our chat,” said Halla. She arched her brow at him. “Right now I’m lying on top of you.”

“Oh?” Magnus smiled just as she began to kiss him. “So this isn’t just chatting?”

“No.” Halla pushed herself upright, now straddling him as she began to remove her shirt. She rolled her hips against him, which pushed her skirt further up her thighs. She breathed deeply when Magnus’s hands began to run up and down her back. “Definitely not.”

Downstairs in the living room, Maggy was on her phone. She had her own account on Tumblr, where she tended to post pictures of baby animals, songs that she liked, and places she desperately wanted to travel to. A few pictures of the new celebrity couple came across her dashboard. Maggy didn’t re-blog them because she knew if she did she wouldn’t be able to resist adding a few lines of snark that would no doubt draw fire to herself from fans of his who felt differently. Instead, she posted a quick note —  “Do they even teach classes about fame whoring at drama school? THIS IS A SERIOUS QUESTION YOU GUYS” — before signing off.

Maggy was about to run upstairs to ask her mother about lunch when she heard something. A soft tinkle, the sound of the crystals in the small, vintage chandelier that hung from the living room ceiling. The chandelier, when Maggy peeked at it, was sort of shimmying. Slowly, then with increasing speed so it was almost like it was hula dancing. Her mouth fell open in horror, then she cringed when she heard her mother’s delicate laughter come in through the open living room window.

Maggy grabbed her phone, the bag of chips she’d been grazing from, and made her way to the basement tv room. She ran into her brother Håkan, who was followed by Moomin, their dog. Maggy grabbed her brother and tugged him along with her.

“Downstairs. Now, Hake.”

“But I was just _down_ there,” Håkan sulked. “I wanted to ask Mom about lunch.”

“Mom and Dad are kinda busy right now.”

“Really? Doing what? Do you know when they’ll be done? Do you think they’ll want to go to Arturo’s? I wanna eat tacos, and then go to Margie’s.” Håkan looked determined.

Maggy shoved the chips at him. “That’s not a bad idea. And no, I don’t know when they’ll be done. But,” she said with one more glance upwards as she and her brother went downstairs, “when they are, and I pray it will be soon, I’m pretty sure they’re going to be, like, REALLY REALLY hungry.”

**Author's Note:**

> The works of fiction that Halla cribbed from are: Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf; The Trial, Franz Kafka; Ulysses, James Joyce.


End file.
